5 February – Sir Henry Brooke

5th February was actually a rather quiet day in Tudor history, so let me introduce you to a little-known Tudor man, Sir Henry Brooke, or Henry Cobham as he called himself, a diplomat in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I who was born on 5th February 1537.

Also on this day in history:

• 1556 – Treaty of Vaucelles between Philip II of Spain and Henry II of France. By the terms of this treaty, Henry II had to relinquish Franche-Comté to Philip, but the treaty was quickly broken.
• 1557 – Death of Sir William Portman, judge and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 1555. He was buried at St Dunstan-in-the-West, Fleet Street, London.
• 1576 – Henry of Navarre, the future Henry IV of France, abjured Catholicism at Tours, rejoining the Protestant forces, following his escape from Paris on 3rd February.
• 1605 – Death of Sir Edward Stafford, son of Sir William Stafford (Mary Boleyn's second husband) and his second wife Dorothy Stafford. Edward was an MP and diplomat, and there is controversy over his "spying" activities during the Armada and exactly how much information he passed to Mendoza. He was buried in St Margaret's, Westminster.